


magic

by seuldy



Category: CLC (Band), Pentagon (Korean Band)
Genre: Ambiguous Relationships, Band Fic, M/M, Multi, Non-Graphic Violence, Polyamory, Recreational Drug Use, Rivalry, Threesome - M/M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-25
Updated: 2017-01-25
Packaged: 2018-09-19 21:54:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9461828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seuldy/pseuds/seuldy
Summary: when hyojong meets hui at a bar he never thinks he's going to end up in a band. he also never realizes that he's going to end up liking two boys who hate each other. but hey, that's life.





	

**Author's Note:**

> so. warnings for recreational drug use (weed, to be specific) and some non-graphic violence. if i've missed anything feel free to let me know. also, hyojong's unapologetically bi and poly in this fic. that's not a warning or anything but just so y'all know. 
> 
> a HUGE thanks to erenie (jaekyu) for their help with this fic. without their patience and validation i would've never finished writing it. also a big thanks to ash just in general for listening to me complain about how writing is hard.

Hyojong would’ve never guessed that a drunken hook-up with a random guy at his favourite gay bar in Seoul would lead to a gig in a band, as their bassist. 

But it does. Hui starts to talk about him and Yuto’s - the second-in-command to his commander-in-chief - pet music project a few weeks after him and Hyojong have started tentatively dating; when he realizes that Hyojong’s a pretty decent bassist, he  has  to ask him to join the band. 

And Hyojong does. Because why not? He’s not doing anything right now - he lost his scholarship, courtesy of a long, bitter rivalry with his rich CEO father, who wasn’t too happy that his son was bisexual and in the fine arts. He’d pulled a few strings and made sure that Hyojong’s scholarship wouldn’t be renewed. Which lands Hyojong a gig in Hui and Yuto’s band.

Soon, they’ve added a bright-eyed and nosy kid named Changgu to their line-up. Changgu brings his boyfriend, Yan An, along with him, and that’s how they start their band. A ragtag group of kids with shitty instruments and Changgu with a mouth big enough to fill any and all awkward silences brought about by the newness of the band, and the fact that they don’t really  know  each other. 

Like, Hyojong knows more about what gets Hui going in bed than he does about  _him_.

One thing he does find out pretty early, though, is that Hui has an ongoing rivalry thing with Jinho, vocalist in another up-and-coming ragtag band of Seoul. He notices Hui glaring at the cute guy at the bar once when they’re all out after a particularly long practice session. He quirks an eyebrow at Yuto, who murmurs that Hui’s hated Jinho ever since him and his band almost won Seoul’s Battle of the Bands in 2014. 

“Doesn’t matter, though, because the girl bands almost always win. They’re all better than us.”

Hyojong knows this to be true. He’s best friends (with benefits) with one of the vocalists in one of the best girl bands in South Korea; Oh Seunghee, oldest member and lead guitarist of CLC. CLC don’t always win the title of Best Band in South Korea, but the bands that do are almost always girl bands - because they have a way of staying out of the type of petty drama like the drama Hui’s subscribed to, with this stupid Jinho rivalry he’s got going on. 

Hui’s sneering at Jinho and his bandmates; for what it’s worth, Jinho’s sneering back, or trying to. It doesn’t have the same bite as Hui’s sneer, but he’s sneering all the same. Hyojong’s always known that the accusations of women being ‘dramatic’ have no basis in reality. All the drama he’s ever witnessed has been carried on by guys, guys like Hui and Jinho, both of whom he was unfortunately attracted to. He clicks his tongue, gesturing at Hui to quit it. 

“Let’s enjoy our drinks while we’re here. S’not often that we get to hang out like this.”

Yuto nods, silently agreeing; both him and Changgu hero-worship Hui, but Yuto’s smart enough to know that this rivalry’s taking them nowhere. Changgu, on the other hand, engages in the type of hero-worship that makes him unable to see Hui’s faults; it’s a blessing and a curse. Mostly a curse.

Hyojong looks back at Jinho and his group of friends; he’s really cute when he’s not sneering. He looks...shy, almost. Reserved, as the rest of his friends laugh loudly and cause a ruckus. He sees Hongseok slap his palm on Jinho’s shoulder, with Jinho smiling to himself quietly, looking back at their table and making eye contact with Hyojong. It’s just for a split second, but Hyojong feels unsettled by it; not in a bad way, necessarily. It’s just something he’s going to think about at night, when he’s supposed to be in the depths of sleep. 

Hui’s drunk and angry - a bad combination that makes him belligerent enough to get into a fight, something that looks like it’s about to happen any minute now. Hyojong manages to get Yuto to take him home, saying he’ll meet them there later. Changgu leads Yan An to the bathroom, where Hyojong’s sure they’ll hook up before heading home.  _Gross_. He tells himself not to use the bathroom before getting home himself.

Before he leaves, he notices a slip of paper with a phone number on it. Frowning, he leaves a wad of cash on the table before heading out. When he flips the paper around, he sees that Jinho’s signed his name there. Huh. That’s weird. 

If Hui ever found out that he’d been in touch with Jinho he’d definitely feel betrayed. Probably throw a tantrum. But Hyojong’s curious; what does Jinho want? He decides not to text him right away. He wants to think on it for a few days, even though he knows he’s going to end up texting him anyway. Hyojong’s never been able to resist the calls of his own curiosity. Who can?

 

 

 

A few days later Hyojong finds himself at Seunghee’s door. She lives with two of her bandmates, Seungyeon and Sorn. Hyojong’s convinced those two are dating;  everyone’s  convinced that those two are dating, even if they won’t admit it to anyone else (or themselves). It’s none of his business anyway. 

Seungyeon doesn’t approve of Hyojong, so he hopes that Sorn will get the door instead of her. No luck. Seungyeon lets him in wordlessly, but he can feel the waves of disapproval rolling off her. He darts back to Seunghee’s bedroom and lets himself in without knocking. 

She’s on her bed, painting her toenails. Barely spares him a second glance. 

“Hey, Hyojong. What’s up?”

He sits on her bed gingerly, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. Pulls out the slip of paper that Jinho left on his table at the bar a few nights ago. He’s fiddled with it so much in the past few days that the ink has almost faded. He waits for Seunghee to finish before handing it to her, wordlessly.

“Where’d you get this?”

“He left it on my table at the bar a few nights ago. Pretty sure it wasn’t an accident. I feel like I’d be betraying Hui and the band if I contact him, but that’s stupid. Right?” 

Seunghee rolls her eyes. He knows how she feels about the boy bands and their drama.

“If you wanna text him, I think you should go for it. Or maybe you guys could focus on actual band stuff for once. The girls want a bit of a challenge this year,” she teases. He rolls his eyes, but can’t hold back his smile. Seunghee’s teasing actually makes him feel at ease. If he decides to text Jinho it won’t really be a big deal, he can feel it. Besides, him and Hui aren’t exclusive - Hyojong’s never really been into that, anyway. He pulls out a cigarette and him and Seunghee share it, blowing smoke into each others’ mouths before Seunghee pulls out a bag of weed, wagging her eyebrows at him.

Seunghee’s thighs are ten times more appealing to him once he’s high; he drags his palms across them and she responds by sitting on his lap, reaching into the pocket of his jacket and pulling out his phone.

“I think you should text Jinho.” She grins at him mischievously before pulling herself off his lap and busying herself with a badly tuned guitar. 

Hyojong flips his phone over and over in his hand. Everything feels a little lighter, here in Seunghee’s room. When she flops down on the bed beside him again it looks like there’s stardust floating around her head. High. He’s high. He giggles, inexplicably, and she giggles back. He pulls the slip of paper out of his pocket again and saves Jinho’s number on his phone before typing out a text. 

 

hyojong:  
> hey. it’s hyojong. what’s up?  
  
jinho:  
> Hey! Was starting to think I wouldn’t hear from you. :)  
> I’m at practice with the band. Let’s talk later?

Hyojong pauses, biting his lip. Doesn’t want to seem too eager.  


hyojong:  
> sure. let me know when you’re free. 

He’s hit with a weird wave of guilt, then; he tries to brush it off, distracting himself by leaning his head against Seunghee’s shoulder while she plays with his hair. He’s too high to really feel anything, anyway. 

 

 

 

He hears Seungyeon come in, almost choking on the stench of weed as she turns off the lights. He can almost see her rolling her eyes at them in the dark. Seunghee’s fast asleep. It’s not weird for him to fall asleep next to her, not like it is with Hui - granted, Hui and Hyojong are roommates along with Yuto, so it’d be weird for him to find them in bed together, considering he’s like Hui’s little brother and everything. Then again, Yuto’s the most perceptive kid he knows, so he’s probably already picked up on the fact that Hui and Hyojong sleep together, sometimes. Not that he’d care.

He wakes up to the sound of his phone buzzing three hours later. It’s almost 3AM; he scrolls through his notifications, seeing one from Hui asking him to “confirm that he’s okay”. He has to admit that that’s kinda cute, the way Hui’s like a concerned boyfriend sometimes. He texts back “affirmative”, stifling a giggle as he hits send. Then his eyes drift over his conversation with Jinho; Jinho said he’d text again after practice, but he never did. That’s strange.

Hyojong doesn’t know much about Jinho. Yuto’s best friends with two of his bandmates - Hyunggu, who seems to go by ‘Kino’ these days, and Wooseok. He’s heard things about Jinho from them, whispered to each other when Hui’s not there. But he’d gotten the sense from them that Jinho’s more reserved than he seems; even though he’s the de facto leader of their band, being the oldest and all, he’s more rough around the edges than Hui, who’s mastered the airs of self-assurance. And while it’s stupid to make assumptions about someone based on a few seconds of eye contact, he feels that what he’s heard is true. So he has to decide whether to reach out again or not. Because somehow he gets the feeling that Jinho won’t do it for him. 

So he clicks on his conversation with Jinho, types in something and hits send before he has a chance to second-guess himself. Sure enough, Jinho texts back a few seconds later. Like he’d been waiting.  


hyojong:  
> you still at practice? :p

jinho:  
> Hey! Sorry for not getting back to you.  
(pause)  
> What are you doing up so late?

   
hyojong:  
> nothing, really. what are /you/ doing up so late? :p

   
jinho:  
> I got up to make food, actually.

   
hyojong:  
> cool. what are you making?  
 

jinho:  
> Cereal. Too lazy to cook.  


Hyojong laughs quietly at that. Imagining Jinho in oversized pajamas, padding into the kitchen at ass o’clock in the morning to pour himself some cereal.   


hyojong:  
> lol. that’s nice. save some for me.  
> i’m at a friend’s house. too shy to use her kitchen.

   
jinho:  
> Oh. You’re busy.  
> Want me to text you later?

hyojong:  
> no. i want you to text me now.  
> unless you’re busy texting all the other people you gave your number to at the bar. ;)  


Hyojong’s usually forward with other boys, but he’s usually not as nervous about it as he is now. His heart pounds in his throat; uncharacteristic, for him. He feels Seunghee stirring beside him. He can almost feel Jinho blushing through his phone screen; he’s taking ages to type out a response.   


jinho:  
> No, I’m not busy. :)  
(pause)  
> I should go to bed soon though.  
> But not yet. :)  


Hyojong tries to think of something creative to say to that, but he can’t. He settles for asking Jinho about his favourite kind of cereal.  You’re a loser , he thinks to himself. Jinho’s willing to humor him, though. For another two hours they text, even though Hyojong’s brain is screaming at him to go to sleep.  He finds out that Jinho’s an assistant at the public library during the day, vocalist in his band by night. He brings up his fine arts scholarship, but doesn’t mention why it was revoked. He finds out that Jinho’s an old grunge scene kind of guy, which makes Hyojong worry that he’s a pretentious purist, but Jinho laughs that off. They talk and laugh until they fall asleep at 5AM with smiles on their faces. 

 

 

 

He wakes up to the smell of pancakes. 

Thank God for Sorn. 

Seunghee’s awake beside him, questions in her eyes. He knows she knows that he was up texting until 5AM in the morning. But there are pancakes in the kitchen that he’s not willing to put off for another minute. So they race each other downstairs, with Seungyeon glaring daggers at him for expecting breakfast. Sorn’s way more hospitable, engulfing him in a warm hug before setting a huge stack of pancakes down in front of him.

He would kiss her, if Seungyeon wasn’t already planning to murder him. 

They sit in the living room, him and Seunghee sprawled on one couch and Seungyeon and Sorn sprawled on the other. His phone buzzes; it’s a good morning text from Jinho. He sees Seunghee eyeing his screen from the corner of an eye, a smirk on her face. He’s going to have to tell her sooner or later.   


jinho:  
> Good morning. :)

   
hyojong:  
> hey. how are you?

   
jinho:  
> Great! You?  
  
hyojong:  
> not bad. you tired me out last night, though. ;)  
  
jinho:  
> Ah, I’m sorry! I know we were up late.  
> What are your plans today?  
  
hyojong:  
> nothing right now, but we got practice tonight. gotta get ready to kick your asses during battle of the bands this year! lol 

   
jinho:  
> Lol! You and I both know that one of the girl bands will win.

hyojong:  
> ok mr. bitter. lol  
> (you’re right though)  
  
jinho:  
> I know I am :) text me when you’re free. Don’t be a stranger.

Hyojong responds with a heart emoji, hating how much he second guesses himself before hitting send.  What are you, twelve?  He reads back over their conversation for a second, before bringing his attention back to Seunghee, who already has her palm out expectantly, waiting for him to hand her his phone. He obliges; him and Seunghee don’t keep secrets from each other. She reads over the texts silently before handing his phone back over with a wink. 

“So?”

“Well, I think he wants to be your friend, at least. It’s nice. He’s not how Hui makes him out to be, honestly.”

And that’s what’s been bothering Hyojong since last night; Jinho’s way too nice for Hui to be making an enemy out of him like this. He’s never been able to figure out the reason Hui hates Jinho, or why Jinho seems to hate him; and he’s never really wanted to know, before now. 

But now it just seems unfathomable to him, why they hate each other so much. It scares him, to think that maybe Jinho’s not the nice person he seems to be, that he’s been duped so easily by a few silly texts. He makes it a point to find out from Yuto why they hate each other, since asking Hui is a recipe for disaster, and he doesn’t really know Jinho well enough yet to be asking those kinds of questions. 

_Forget about it for now_ , he thinks to himself.  _You’ll find out soon enough_. 

 

 

 

He shows up to practice with a pit the size of his fist in his stomach. He feels like he’s doing something wrong, even though rationally he isn’t; Hui’s grudges aren’t Hyojong’s cross to bear. 

_ So why do I feel so anxious? _

There’s something magic about Hui tonight; the way he grips his mic stand, the way he closes his eyes when he’s hitting those hard notes; it makes Hyojong like him a little more. It makes Hyojong feel even more conflicted about his little tryst with Jinho; he feels even weirder thinking of it as a tryst, since everything he and Jinho have talked about so far has been nothing but G-rated.

(A little  too  G-rated in Hyojong’s opinion. But that’s neither here nor there.)

Yuto’s drumming up a storm; everyone’s putting on their best tonight, except for Hyojong. He clutches his bass a little bit tighter, eyebrows furrowed in concentration. Hui comes by and squeezes his shoulder, making him lose focus. Usually Hui’s a little uptight during practice sessions that are this close to the day of the battle, but he’s surprisingly good-natured even though Hyojong’s only physically there. 

After, Hui offers him a beer; Hyojong hates the stuff but he gulps it down anyway, grateful for the sting it leaves behind as he swallows. He’s sprawled on the couch while Hui plays a video game. That’s when his phone buzzes, Jinho’s name flashing on his screen. Hui looks at it for a split second, not registering who ‘Jinho’ is; if he does, he doesn’t let on. Hyojong stuffs his phone into his pocket before Hui has a chance to get a closer look. He excuses himself and heads to his room.   


jinho:  
> Hey. You up?  
  
hyojong:  
> barely - just got out of practice. having a beer with hui. wby?  
  
jinho:  
> Thinking of heading out for a walk. Wanna come?        

Oh man.  Hyojong wants to. But he’s exhausted. And Hui’s still up, so there’s no question of him sneaking out. Not that he has to explain himself to Hui. 

It’s just a walk. Not a crime.   


hyojong:  
> yep. where d’you live? i’ll come by.   


He’s out the door as soon as Jinho texts him his address, his hasty goodbye to Hui muffled by the scarf against his mouth. It’s chilly out, but not too cold; perfect weather for a walk. He’s outside Jinho’s door in five minutes, texting him that he’s outside. 

Then Jinho’s in front of him. He’s smaller than Hyojong remembers. He’s actually never stood this close to Jinho before. The sleeves of his flannel shirt fall past his wrists, past his fingers even; there’s a hole in each sleeve for his thumbs. Hyojong suspects he cut those into the fabric himself. There’s something meticulous in how disheveled he looks; his hair’s an artful mess, and his jeans are ripped in straight lines across his knees. His Chuck Taylors are a faded, worn blue. 

Hyojong really,  _really _ likes him. 

They walk down the block; there’s a park nearby that opens all night, one with a 24-hour McDonald’s right next to it. They pick up some food and settle on a bench hidden beneath an oak tree. Jinho’s face is soft golden under the street lights. He lets Hyojong steal some fries after he’s done with his own. 

Silence settles over them, but it’s not awkward or anything. It’s actually kind of nice. Hyojong lets his mind drift; he sees Jinho’s hand inching closer to his, and he smiles to himself.  It’s like we’re in high school . Frustrated, he reaches out for Jinho’s hand and laces their fingers together, feeling a collective exhale come out of both of them. He catches Jinho’s eye and Jinho looks away, flustered, but smiling all the same. 

_Fuck_.  

Hyojong realizes that he enjoys talking to Jinho about as much as he enjoys talking to Hui, which is a problem. Considering everything. He turns towards Jinho abruptly. 

“Hyung, can I ask you something?"

If Jinho’s bothered by the formality, he doesn’t let onto it."

“Sure.”

Hyojong braces himself. 

“What’s the deal with you and Hui? Like, why do you...you know.” Jinho looks at him, puzzled. 

“Why do we...what?”

"I don’t know. Seems to me like you guys hate each other. And I really need to know why.”

Jinho inhales deeply, like he’s getting ready to speak, but he doesn’t say anything.

“Did my question bother you?” Hyojong asks quietly. 

"No, not at all. Have you asked him?”

Hyojong can’t answer that question, because he’s kind of ashamed of how much he doesn’t want to confront the issue with Hui, even though they’ve dated for ages and been friends for even longer. Jinho takes Hyojong’s silence as a ‘no’, and starts to answer.

“Honestly, I don’t even remember how it started. It all seems so stupid to me now.” He looks at Hyojong earnestly. “The fact is that this band stuff - music, and competing - I love it, but it brings out the ugliest parts of me sometimes. And I’m sure the same is true for Huitaek.” He pauses, taking a sip from his Coke. 

“We went to the same music program together as kids. Same music classes. Then Huitaek had to drop out. Not sure why. His mother passed away,” Jinho pauses, pain etched into his features. “I guess his mother was the one who wanted him to study music. His father, not so much.” He stops again. Hyojong listens greedily, glad to finally understand the root of the problem between Jinho and Hui. 

“We were best friends, you know. As kids I mean.” He smiles sadly. “Then we lost touch after Huitaek dropped out of classes. The first time I saw him again was when we started our bands. I guess that’s where the rivalry started, though there was never one main reason for it.”

Hyojong looks at Jinho again; he looks like a weight’s been lifted off his shoulders. They sit in silence again; Hyojong squeezes Jinho’s palm. 

“Thanks for sharing that with me."

Jinho smiles at him gratefully. Hyojong stands up. 

“I should probably get going.”  
  
Jinho stands too. “I need to get back too. I’ll walk you.”

They walk together slowly, not wanting the night to be over. They don’t hold hands, though their fingers graze against each other, Hyojong’s heart pounding like a jackhammer in his chest. 

Jinho kisses him under a streetlamp right outside his building. His lips are soft and they barely graze against Hyojong’s, but it’s enough to make Hyojong want Jinho to fuck him in the alley between his building and the next.  If only . He bites Jinho’s bottom lip, not hard enough to bleed but he’s sure there’s a bruise blooming beneath his teeth.  _Good_. 

Hyojong’s intense with all his lovers, whoever they may be. He always feels a little smug when he’s managed to knock the wind out of them, but he feels especially proud of what he’s done to Jinho, who looks like he’s unraveling right there outside Hyojong’s building. Jinho, who had seemed so reserved on that first night at the bar. That night seemed like it was so long ago, even though Hyojong’s sure it’s been less than a month. Crazy. 

In that moment, he forgets about Hui and Yuto. He invites Jinho upstairs by dragging him backwards into the building and into the elevator. Jinho presses him up against the elevator’s mirror and bites his earlobe, lips traveling down to Hyojong’s neck.  Fuck.

Hyojong’s too busy toying with the zipper on Jinho’s jeans to open the door, so he retrieves his keys and hands them to Jinho. Jinho fumbles with them - both the unfamiliarity of the keys and Hyojong’s teeth on the back of his neck make unlocking the door a ten minute ordeal. 

Hyojong doesn’t give a shit. He needs Jinho in his bed, now. They rush across the living room, laughing silently as they fumble their way past Hyojong’s door, slamming it shut. Hyojong presses Jinho up against the door and kisses him again, slower than before. Now that they’re in the privacy of Hyojong’s room, they can take their time. 

So they do.

Hyojong walks Jinho backwards until he’s lying on Hyojong’s bed on his back, pulling Jinho’s jeans off to reveal a set of Batman briefs, wet at the tip of Jinho’s dick.  Cute . He stifles a laugh, but Jinho catches him and glares back. 

“I’ll have you know that the-” He starts, defiant, but Hyojong shuts him up with another kiss. He sits back on his ankles and pulls his shirt off, feeling Jinho’s fingers on the button of his jeans. 

They’re both too impatient to get fully undressed; they grind against each other, hot and quick the way Hyojong likes it. He grinds his ass against Jinho’s dick and Jinho stuffs a fist in his mouth, trying to muffle his moans as Hyojong moves faster. 

Jinho closes his eyes when he comes, staining his black Batman briefs. Hyojong’s grateful for that; if the look on his face shows any of the awe he feels then it would be super embarrassing for Jinho to see it. He moves over to the side and kisses Jinho lazily as he calms down, palm on his cheek as Jinho curls his fingers into Hyojong’s hair. 

“Do you want me to…” Jinho moves his hand towards the waistband of Hyojong’s jeans, but Hyojong waves him off. 

“No. M’tired.”

Hyojong closes his eyes but he can feel that Jinho’s uncomfortable with something. He cranks an eye open and sees him sitting up but not moving.

“What is it?”

“Should I…” He gestures at the door, and Hyojong gets it.

“No, I want you to stay here tonight. If you want to.”

“Okay.”

 

 

 

They wake up to the sound of laughter and Hyojong’s door slamming open.

Jinho ends up spooning Hyojong as they sleep, his clothed front pressed against Hyojong’s bare back. They’re under the covers, but Hyojong’s uncovered enough for Hui and Yuto to see his bare shoulders.

_Fuck_.

He sits up and sees Hui’s mouth frozen mid-laughter, the incredulous look on Yuto’s face. Betrayal flashes across Hui’s face for a split second before he puts on his mask of self-assuredness; Hyojong’s always envied that talent. 

“You guys want breakfast?” Hui’s false bravado, the forced smile on his face, makes Hyojong want to hide under his covers for the rest of the year. He looks over at Jinho, who’s shellshocked by this turn of events. Hyojong’s not sure what Jinho anticipated, but he’s sure it wasn’t this - breakfast with a rival. 

Jinho begins to get out of bed before realizing that he’s only wearing briefs. The situation’s so absurd that Hyojong has to stop himself from laughing. 

“Yeah, sure, we’ll have breakfast.” He and Yuto make eye contact for a second before Yuto nods at him, briefly - it feels like an acknowledgment of how stupid the waves of anger rolling off Hui under the forced grin are, and Hyojong knows that Yuto’ll talk some sense into him before they head downstairs. 

That doesn’t stop Hui from slamming Hyojong’s bedroom door hard enough to make flakes of paint fall from the ceiling onto him and Jinho. They look at each other before bursting into nervous, relieved giggles - nervous at what’s waiting for them downstairs, relieved that the most awkward part of getting caught is over. 

Hyojong lends Jinho a pair of underwear, shyly handing it over to him before stumbling over himself to get into the shower. 

 

 

 

Breakfast is an awkward affair. 

When Hyojong leaves the room he sees Jinho looking out the window, as if he’s seriously contemplating escaping the arduous ordeal dealing with Hui over breakfast. Hyojong hastily throws on a pair of sweats and a hoodie and throws a pair of pants and a shirt at Jinho, gesturing at him to shower and get dressed. 

Jinho comes to the kitchen quietly, hands buried deep into the pockets of the jeans Hyojong’s lent him. He looks like he’s about to mutter a quick goodbye then leave, but Hui kicks a chair towards him and grunts at him to sit down. 

So he sits. 

Hyojong wants to die. 

Jinho looks at the pancake in front of him. He lifts his fork and knife and cuts himself a piece. It’s agonizing to watch; Hyojong can hear the cogs whirring in his head and he wants to scream at how awkward it all is. Hui is intent on ignoring the both of them, acting like Yuto’s the only one there. 

Hyojong pulls out his phone. 

hyojong:  
> i’m going to die.  
> hui caught me and jinho in bed together and i don’t know what he’s going to do yet.

seunghee:  
> i know. i heard lol  
  
Hyojong glares daggers at Yuto then, who just looks back at him, sheepish.  
  
hyojong:  
> i feel like he’s going to kill us.  
  
seunghee:  
> relax, dawnie  
> give him a bit of time  
  
hyojong:  
> jinho’s making everything worse.  
> he’s acting like hui poisoned the pancakes.  
  
seunghee:  
> oh, didn’t he yet? lol  
> i’m sorry, this is just way too dramatic  
> i gtg practice but let me know what happens :)  


Yuto tries to stifle a smile as he puts his plate in the sink. 

“I’m going to Wooseok’s.” He nods at Jinho briefly and pats Hui on the shoulder, seeing himself out. 

Hyojong picks up Jinho and Hui’s plates and puts them on top of his own. “I’m going to do the dishes,” he announces, quietly. The silence is deafening, but Hui seems less angry than he did before and Jinho looks less pained about being there. 

As he’s lathering the first plate he hears mumbling from the dinner table. He doesn’t strain to hear any of it. He doesn’t want to intrude; he feels that even though Hui’s explosively angry and Jinho’s positively terrified, that they’re civil enough to hold their tempers and talk things out like adults. 

He’s swallowing his words by the time he gets to the second plate; he thinks he hears them getting into a scuffle. But he’s too focused on doing the dishes to stop them now. He scrubs until his hands are chafed, the pads of his thumbs calloused and dry. 

He walks into the living room as Jinho’s engulfing Hui in a hug.  _What the fuck happened_?

“I should do the dishes more often,” he jokes. As he approaches he notices that Jinho’s knuckles are red against the back of Hui’s neck; Hui looks up and he has a black eye.  _Jesus_.

Hui realizes that Hyojong’s looking at his eye and he chuckles. “Don’t worry about this,” he says. “I think I kind of deserved it. I’m not mad. Though I think you’re an asshole for not telling me about this,” he gestures between Hyojong and Jinho, “sooner.” 

As Hui talks, Hyojong feels the tension melt away from the room fast, like butter on a hot day. Relieved, he pulls them both into a hug. They both bury their heads into his neck. Hui’s taller so he has to lean down a little, while Jinho has to reach up for his chin to reach Hyojong’s shoulder.  I could get used to this , he thinks, Jinho’s fingers in his belt loops, Hui’s hand firm on his waist. 

He pulls back and looks at Jinho first, then Hui. Their eyes are bright, but guarded; Hyojong feels that whatever happened in the past half an hour is going to stay between them. And that’s fine with him, as long as they can  _finally _ keep the peace. 

He texts Seunghee. Keeps it brief, but tells her the drama is over. She responds:  


> that’s great! maybe this time you guys will actually do well at the battles. Lol

Hyojong grins at his screen. Maybe they will.

 

 

 

 

The peace between Jinho and Hui doesn’t lead to any wins for either bands, or any boys for that matter. The final showdown brings CLC and a bright pop punk band called TWICE ( nine members?! ) to either end of the bar where they usually compete. Hyojong listens as CLC’s dark melodies clash with TWICE’s glitter pop sound. They each make great music, but it sounds even better blended together; he sees Seunghee make eye contact with one of the band’s vocals and smile.  Interesting . He’ll have to ask her about that later. 

He’s sipping on his beer when he sees Hui and Jinho in the corner. For a split second Hyojong thinks they’re fighting, then he sees Hui duck down to kiss Jinho, a rough kiss that keeps him plastered up against the wall, Hui’s body holding him there. 

_ Oh_ . 

Hyojong feels his jeans get uncomfortably tight. Hui senses him watching and turns around, smirking and gesturing at him to join them. He stands up a little too eagerly, almost knocking his bar stool over. He tries to stop himself from running over to them and fails, moving as fast as the crowd will let him go.

They squeeze Hyojong between them the second he arrives, Hyojong facing Jinho, back up against Hui. Hyojong feels the tent in Hui’s jeans. It’s safe to say that Jinho’s hard as well. Jinho tugs Hyojong down by his shirt collar and kisses him deeply. Hyojong feels Hui’s lips on the nape of his neck, soft then hard, biting down hard enough to leave a mark.  _Fuck_. 

He pulls away from Jinho and leans back to kiss Hui, then grabs their hands with each of his.

“You guys wanna get out of here?”

Hui smirks again, nodding. They both turn their gazes to Jinho. He’s flushed, his lips bitten red and his hair messy beyond belief. He nods eagerly. 

“Let’s go.”

**Author's Note:**

> stay tuned for more in this 'verse (potentially). hope y'all like this! (if you see any mistakes or w/e feel free to let me know)


End file.
